Labelling machine for cylindrical containers

ABSTRACT

A CONSTRUCTION WHEREIN CANS ROLLING DOWN A CHUTE ARE FED ON TO A MOVING CONVEYOR BELT AND ENGAGED BETWEEN THE CONVEYOR BELT AND OVERHEAD GUIDE RAILS. THE BELT IS RESILIENTLY PRESSED TOWARDS THE GUIDE RAILS SO AS TO REVERSE THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF THE CANS. A GLUE DISPENSER TRANSFERS PICKUP GLUE TO AN AREA OF EACH CAN CIRCULFERENCE AS IT PASSES ALONG, AND THERE IS A LABEL DISPENSER ABOVE THE GUIDE RAILS FROM WHICH A LABEL IS PICKED UP BY THE GLUE ON THE CAN AND WRAPPED AROUND AND ADHERED TO THE ROTATING CAN.

Feb. 2, 1971 L. A. NELSON 3,560,303

LABELLING MACHINE FOR CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS Filed March 27, 1967 5 1, ubulud 535-1 United States Patent Office 3,560,303 Patented Feb. 2, 1971 3,560,303 LABELLING MACHINE FOR CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS Lloyd Alexander Nelson, 715 Barkly St., West Footscray, Victoria, Australia Filed Mar. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 626,069 Claims priority, application Australia, Apr. 4, 1966, 3,840/ 66 Int. Cl. B65c 9/04 US. Cl. 156-453 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A construction wherein cans rolling down a chute are fed on to a moving conveyor belt and engaged between the conveyor belt and overhead guide rails. The belt is resiliently pressed towards the guide rails so as to reverse the direction of rotation of the cans. A glue dispenser transfers pickup glue to an area of each can circumference as it passes along, and there is a label dispenser above the guide rails from which a label is picked up by the glue on the can and wrapped around and adhered to the rotating can.

This invention relates to labelling machines for cylindrical containers, hereinafter referred to (for brevity) as cans.

Labelling machines are known in which cans roll along rails, the cans being propelled by an overhead endless belt in contact with the cans on the side thereof opposite to the rails. In machines of this type, the cans roll over wheels loaded with pickup adhesive, either hot or cold, which transfer spots of pickup glue to the can which then makes one or two full turns and presses pickup adhesive to the end of the topmost one of a pack of labels disposed beneath the rails, picking it up and wrapping it around the can. The end of the label to lap over has meanwhile been coated with suitable paste so that the can, as it continues rolling, laps the label onto itself, whereby it is pressed down and adheres together.

The present invention concerns a modification of the above outlined type whereby cans are labelled at relatively low speeds by a machine of greater simplicity and more suited to intermittent operation.

According to the present invention, there is provided a labelling machine for cans, comprising a chute along which the cans will roll and are fed onto a driven endless belt conveyor, guide rails above the conveyor belt and substantially parallel thereto and defining therewith a passageway for the cans, means resiliently pressing the cans between the conveyor belt and the guide rails when the cans enter the said passageway so as to reverse the direction of rotation of the cans as they are conveyed by the conveyor belt, a glue dispenser adapted to transfer pickup glue to an area or areas of each can circumference as it passes along the passageway, and a label dispensing device disposed above the guide rails from which device a label is subsequently picked up by the pickup glue on the can and wrapped around and adhered to the can as the latter continues to be rotated by the conveyor belt prior to discharge from the passageway.

Preferably, before leaving the passageway, means such as a soft roller is arranged to exert a soft smoothing pressure on the labelled can over at least a portion of its circumference, to ensure good adhesion of the label.

Also, there may be an application of glue or paste to the trailing end of the label, i.e., a margin of the label that is last applied to the can, and which margin may overlap the initially applied edge, i.e., the leading end of the label, thereby ensuring final sealing of the critical edges of the label to the can.

One practical arrangement of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the labelling machine indicating the direction of rotation of the cans as they pass through.

FIG. 2 is a section of a detail, taken on the line 1111 of FIG. 1, showing one of the cans about to contact and pick up a label from the label pack.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a detail, on an enlarged scale, showing one means of applying paste to the trailing edge of a label as it is about to be finally carried off the pack by the rotating can; and

FIG. 4 is a fragment of the machine of FIG. 1, showing an alternative drive for the glue dispenser.

Referring to the drawings, in his preferred arrangement of the invention, the labelling machine comprises an endless conveyor belt 10 driven at slow speed by a suitable drive unit, such as an electric motor 11. The cans 12 are fed by rolling down an inclined chute 13 until they contact the belt 10' and enter the passageway 14 formed between the belt 10 and superposed guide rails 15 with side guides 16, which reverses the rotation of the cans 12 and rolls them through the machine pressed against the guide rails 15 above the cans by means described later.

The cans pass over a glue dispenser 18 in the form of a pickup glue pot 17, which has pickup wheels 19 therein rotating at a peripheral speed substantially equal to the conveyor speed of the belt 10. These wheels 19 contact the cans under spring pressure and are adjusted so that they transfer suitably sized spots of pickup glue to each can circumference as it passes. Drive means for the pickup wheels 19 may conveniently be by worm gear 20 on side shaft 21 driven from the main drive shaft 22 for the conveyor belt 10. The can then rolls for half a revolution and the pickup glue spots are pressed against the end of the lowermost label of a pack of labels 23 in a label dispensing device 24 above the guide rails 15, which device feeds labels down in a label box 26 by gravity assisted by a suitably weighted follower 25.

An alternative means for driving the pickup wheels 19 is shown in FIG. 4, and comprises a lay shaft 50 driven by the belt 10 through pulley 51. On the lay shaft 50 is mounted a sprocket 52 which drives, by means of a chain 53, a second sprocket 54 fast on spindle 55, on which spindle the pickup wheels 19 are mounted.

The belt is supported and pressed upwards by a series of spring loaded idler rollers 28, thereby pressing the cans against the guide rails 15.

The pickup glue spots adhere to the label and the lowermost label of the pack 23 is drawn down from its leading end and wrapped around the can (see FIG. 3) pulling past a series of knives 30, which grip the labels sufiiciently to prevent them from falling through. The trailing end of the label rests on a paste bar 31, which is hollow and has a slot or a series of holes in the upper surface. This bar 31 is fed, by gravity or by applied pressure, with paste through a soft plastic tube 33 from a bulk paste pot 34 disposed at a level above the paste bar 31 and the paste is sealed off by the label resting upon it.

The paste supply to the trailing end of the label may be metered by a valve means 36 (FIG. 3) operated by each can 12 as it rolls through the latter part of the passageway 14. This valve means 36 comprises a rocker 37 fulcrumed at 38 and having an operating end 40 disposed opposite a fixed constriction point 41. The other end 42 of the rocker 37 extends partly into the path of the cans in the passageway 14 and is weighted (or spring loaded) to bias the rocker so that the end 40 presses the soft plastic tube 33 against the constriction point 41, thereby closing off supply of paste from the pot 34 to the bar 31. The passage of each can past the rocker 37 momentarily lifts the end 42 thereby releasing the pressure at the operating end 40 and relieving constriction of the tube 33 at the point 41, thus controlling the supply of paste in accordance with the number of cans passing through.

The rate of flow may be varied by increasing the air pressure above the paste in the pot 34, and this can conveniently be achieved by a manually operated squeeze bulb 45, or by other means, operable at will.

As each label is pulled away by the rolling action of the can, the trailing end of the label is coated with paste by the paste bar 31. At a suitable distance from the paste bar, a soft sponge rubber roller 46 is located which pressure rolls the overlapping ends of the label to securely seal them together.

Alternatively, or additionally, there may be a runout pad (not shown) installed on the guide rails 15, which exerts a soft smoothing pressure on the labelled can over a part or all of its circumference before the can is finally discharged from the passageway 14.

In the preferred arrangement, the machine according to the invention comprises a main frame 1 on which is mounted a first subframe 2 carrying the conveyor belt and its main drive shaft 22, conveyor drive pulley 22a, and conveyor idler pulley 22b. Subframe 2 also supports spring loaded idler rollers 28, pickup glue dispenser 18, and its attendant drive means, and soft roller 46.

A second subframe 3, also mounted on the main frame 1, carries the guide rails 15, the label box 26, and the paste pot 34 with its attendant pasting details. This subframe 3 is preferably adjustable vertically, relative to subframe 2, so as to vary the height of the passageway 14 to suit cans of different diameters.

Details of construction may be varied without departing from the concept of the invention as defined in the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A labelling machine for cans, comprising a chute for supplying cans, a driven endless belt conveyor for receiving said cans, guide rails above said conveyor belt substantially parallel thereto forming with said belt a passageway for said cans, means operating on the upper run of said belt resiliently pressing said cans between said conveyor belt and said guide rails to reverse the direction of rotation of said cans when conveyed by said conveyor belt, a glue dispenser transferring pickup glue to an area of each can circumference as it passes along said passageway, a label dispensing device disposed above said guide rails for supplying a label picked up by said pickup glue on said can and wrapped around and adhered to said can as the latter continues to be rotated by said conveyor belt prior to discharge from said passageway, means for apply- 4 ing glue to a margin of the label to be picked up at an edge thereof that is last applied to the can as the can progresses through said passageway, which margin overlaps the intially applied edge of said label, thereby ensuring good sealing of both said edges of said label to said can, said means for applying glue comprising a pot containing a supply of glue, a glue bar disposed directly beneath said margin, said bar being hollow and having openings in its upper surface, t-ubular means connecting said glue pot with said bar, said tubular means being a flexible tube of soft plastic, valve means for controlling the flow of glue along said tube from said pot to said bar, said valve means effecting constriction of said tube to prevent flow of glue therethrough, and means operating said valve means to relieve said constriction each time a can passes along the discharge end of said passageway thereby allowing glue to flow to said margin of said label.

2. A labelling machine according to claim 1, wherein said valve means comprises a rocker pivoted adjacent said tube having an operating end disposed opposite a fixed constriction point with said tube therebetween, the other end of the rocker extending partly into the path of said cans in said passageway being weighted to bias said rocker so that the operating end presses said tube against said constriction point to stop the flow of glue in said tube whereby the passing of each can past the other end of said rocker pivots said rocker to momentarily release the pressure at the operating end thereby relieving constriction of said tube to allow glue to flow.

3. A labelling machine according to claim 2 wherein the supply of glue is subjected to superposed air pressure greater than atmospheric, and said superposed air pressure is produced by manually operated means.

4. A labelling machine according to claim 3 comprising a roller having a soft peripheral surface located downstream of said bar to apply pressure to the overlapping ends of said label to seal them together.

UNITED STATES PATENTS References Cited 1,563,147 11/1925 Bartlett 156455 1,835,145 12/1931 Cooke 156453X 1,881,125 10/1932 Parr 156455 2,355,232 8/1944 Nelson et al. 118319X 2,495,174 1/ 1950 McClatchie 118-259X 2,517,395 8/1950 Lewis 156-453X 3,472,722 10/ 1969 Hutchinson 15 6-5 63X SAMUEL W. EN'GIJE, Primary Examiner U.S. c1. X.R. 156-357, 

